602
Paris photographié (30 plates) was due to François-
Auguste Renard. This initial releases also included a
series of views, monuments, landscapes, seascapes, and
gothic architecture entitled Excursions photographiques
(30 plates, and “more each day”) by Le Gray, Henry Le
Secq, and others referred to as “the most distinguished
photographers.” In October 1853, Edouard Baldus’
eleven plates reproducing the stained-glass windows
for Sainte Clotilde church in Paris appeared. Goupil’s
catalogue of that date advertised that: “One can fi nd
at Messrs. Goupil & Cie all of the most remarkable
achievements that were obtained in photography of all
genres; views from Italy, Switzerland, Spain, studies of
landscape, architecture, and fi gure, etc., by the most dis-
tinguished artists. Each photographic plate can be sold
separately, price range is from 2 to 25 francs, according
to the size and importance of the subject.” The next ca-
talogue (June 1854) featured Baldus (Monuments, vues
générales et tableaux, 25 plates), the Bisson brothers
(L’œuvre d’Albert Dürer, 104 plates, and Vues de Paris,
16 plates), Giroux, (Vues d’Auvergne, 32 plates), Grillet
(Vues de Pompéi, 17 plates), Kier, (Vues de Venise, 32
plates), Le Secq (La Cathédrale de Reims, and Études
de paysage, 32 plates each), Le Gray (Études diverses,
40 plates), Friedrich Martens (Vues de Suisse, 36 plates),
and Joseph Vigier (Vues des Pyrénées, 38 plates).
The catalogues hardly mention photography again
until 1858 but the June 1854 stated: “Our collection
of photographs contains everything remarkable which
has been made until now in France and abroad. It is
impossible to list in our catalogue all the sheets from
this collection, hence we will only quote some of the
most important.” Some of Goupil’s important publica-
tions (such as Charles Nègre’s Midi de la France, 1854,
10 plates) are not listed, which makes analysis diffi cult.
However, this fi rst incursion in the realm of photography
showed the extent to which Goupil considered the new
medium merely a tool applied to a general publish-
ing policy. Photographs had their own section in the
catalogues, beside “Engravings,” “Lithographs,” “Col-
lections,” and “Studies.” Names of the photographers
usually appeared, and prices were comparable to those
for prints—less than for engravings, but more than for
lithographs, on average. The format itself mimicked
the formulas used in the print trade, with carefully
designed and printed letters, bearing all the customary
information and the publisher’s address. Appropriat-
ing the tradition of printmaking was not specifi c to
Goupil but was a general trend in photo-publishing’s
early years. Martens’ Vues de Suisse epitomized these
intricate relationships between photography and print-
making. Not only was Martens a successful engraver,
published by Goupil since the 1840’s, but his Swiss
photographs were interpreted as color lithographs by
Eugène Cicéri, in two sizes, both published by Goupil
(1859–1864). Though representing the same subjects,
the photographs and lithographs were not aimed at the
same market. Goupil’s marketing talent was to identify
various distinct clienteles and to tailor publications to
their specifi c needs.
The subjects of Goupil’s early photo publications
were consistent with their print publications. The only
portrait, Le Gray’s Napoleon III (“in civil costume”)
fi tted into the long sequence of offi cial or more casual
portraits of the emperor that Goupil published in every
possible size and technique, and with a wide range of
prices. The emphasis on topographical and picturesque
views, architecture and travels echoed the numerous
views published by the Maison, especially as litho-
graphs. Reproduction of works of art formed the other
important category, with Delessert’s celebrated repro-
duction of Raimondi’s prints, and Baldus’ photographs
of stained-glass windows. Goupil would eventually
specialize in fi ne-art photographic reproductions capital-
izing on his experience as a print publisher.
After the fi rst wave, photographs re-appeared in 1858,
when Goupil created the Galerie photographique, the
fi rst of his extensive series of reproductions of works
of art. The Galerie photographique grew to 1,779 items
by 1894. Five other series would follow: Musée Goupil
& Cie (1860), Cartes de visite (c. 1863), and Cartes
album (Cabinet cards, 1872) amounted to more than
1,100 items each by the end of the century. Less im-
portant, Photographies d’après les grands maîtres and
Album de photographies appeared in 1860 and c1863,
respectively. For the most part, the six major Goupil
photographic series were devoted to contemporary
art (almost exclusively painting), carefully selected at
each Salon. Though Goupil installed a semi-clandestine
photographic studio in the Louvre in the 1880’s (État
des lieux 2, 1999, 129), reproductions of old masters
were the province of other fi rms, such as Braun. From
the constant fl ow of Goupil art reproductions would
only emerge few “direct” photographs, such as Louis
Rousselet’s Voyage dans l’Inde (c. 1870, 160 plates)
or Auguste-Rosalie Bisson’s Vues d’Italie (c. 1870, 56
plates).
In the beginning, Goupil had no photographic facility
but commissioned the printer, H. de Fonteny (respon-
sible for printing Teynard and Nègre portfolios), and
professional photographers, chiefl y Robert Bingham,
but also C. Michelez and Henri Voland, all special-
ists in art reproduction. An in-house photographic
studio opened in 1860, directed by Henri Rousselon
(1822–1902), an engineer. Initially limited to the pro-
duction of albumen prints, this facility soon made the
wet collodion negatives itself, and by 1862, Goupil’s
fl ourishing photo-publishing activity was autonomous.
In 1869, the fi rm opened a large factory in Asnières,
thereby gathering under one roof all its technical and